The invention relates to a lateral pressure pad for positioning workpieces on a support provided with one or more stops, employing resilient pressure means with a retaining pin partially enclosed in a housing and embedable with the housing in an aperture of the support.
Lateral pressure pads of the above-described type are known from the prior German patent No. 2,503,246 for example. In these lateral pressure pads the retaining pin is embedded in a resilient material and thus retained resiliently, that is to say that when it is moved out of its normal position by the exertion of a correspondingly strong force, it tends to return into this normal position.
A workpiece which is clamped between two stops and this lateral pressure pad, for example, is consequently retained by this lateral pressure pad with a force which is a function of the resilience of the resilient material used on the one hands and of the degree of the deflection of the retaining pin out of its normal position by the workpiece on the other hand.
These lateral pressure pads are excellently suited for the short-term fastening of workpieces.
However, disadvantages, which are due to a permanent deformation of the elastomer material, arise in the case of long-term use.
In fact, if a workpiece is anchored for a prolonged period in the case of such a known lateral pressure pad, then a permanent deformation of the elastomer material occurs, with the result that the retaining pin no longer returns completely into its original position after the workpiece is released.